Surprise Emergency Room Bill (3 Viewers)

Previous Next
BullSheetBuddha said:
I'm not so sure about that. I have medicare and Tricare For Life and I'm always amazed at how little I pay if I pay anything at all. And that's for doctor visits, emergency room, and hospital stays.
Click to expand...

That's what I said. Regular American healthcare is the least efficient system on earth. Carrying elephants up hill in slings made with lettuce and toothpicks would be more efficient.

Medicare and government healthcare are orders more efficient than what passes as our insurance based system.
 
dtc said:
That's what I said. Regular American healthcare is the least efficient system on earth. Carrying elephants up hill in slings made with lettuce and toothpicks would be more efficient.

Medicare and government healthcare are orders more efficient than what passes as our insurance based system.
Click to expand...
Oh, ok, I get it now. I had to go back and reread what you posted. Sorry 'bout that.
 
Supported an ER this past week, census is really slow right now at this place and has been for awhile now everywhere else I have been, which is good news. Patient comes in, chief complaint is “nausea”. Nurse evaluates female patient, complains of nausea, has not vomited, series of questions leads to the fact she has missed her menstrual cycle. Pregnancy test ordered, positive result, what the heck. Medicaid patient that could have stopped at $1.25 tree and either discovered the cause or ruled the cause out.

Following day, male patient, chief complaint, sore shoulder. Nurse tells doctor, patient is a frequent flyer, probably needs work excuse, factory he works at requires work excuse for absences. Negative for any injury to shoulder, work excuse written, happy camper leaving the building.

Waste of resources, waste of government money and driving insurance cost up.
 
1658324980914.png

Commenters were shocked when an anonymous user posted his friend's medical bills totaling $244,995 after he was treated for a rattlesnake bite.......

The Bill​

"A friend of mine recently got bit by a rattlesnake while on an evening hike," the viral post read.. "This was his bill from the hospital. He doesn't think his crappy insurance will cover much of it (U.S.)."

The image attached showed a billed amount of more than $244,000 but since it was recent, it was still unclear how much the person would owe or if insurance would cover the costs.

Although antivenom is accessible in the U.S., sometimes the vials can cost upwards of $100,000, according to UNC Health's pharmacy team.

Why is Antivenom Expensive?​

The VIPER Institute's research reported a breakdown of the price of the antivenom:

  • Cost to manufacture the antivenom: 10 percent of the sticker price.
  • Licensing fees legal costs: About 28 percent of the cost.
  • Hospital markups, which they say are generally discounted by health insurers for patients with coverage: About 70 percent of the cost.

Redditor Reactions​

More than 3,300 users commented on the post, many wondering why the treatment for a snake bite was so steep.

"I'd love to see the breakdown of that amount billed, what can possibly amount to $200k+ for treating a snake bite. Is the antidote made from moon dust or something?" one user commented.

"Tell the friend to ask for an itemized bill. That sometimes lowers it because they calculate things and break it down more," one user commented.

"It sounds like the snake is liable. Lawyer up Greg," another user joked.

"If this was in Denmark, we don't have rattlesnakes though, the total hospital bill would amount to $0."

"In return we do have the luxury of paying the highest taxes in the world," another user commented.............

MSN

www.msn.com
 
itztime said:
Supported an ER this past week, census is really slow right now at this place and has been for awhile now everywhere else I have been, which is good news. Patient comes in, chief complaint is “nausea”. Nurse evaluates female patient, complains of nausea, has not vomited, series of questions leads to the fact she has missed her menstrual cycle. Pregnancy test ordered, positive result, what the heck. Medicaid patient that could have stopped at $1.25 tree and either discovered the cause or ruled the cause out.

Following day, male patient, chief complaint, sore shoulder. Nurse tells doctor, patient is a frequent flyer, probably needs work excuse, factory he works at requires work excuse for absences. Negative for any injury to shoulder, work excuse written, happy camper leaving the building.

Waste of resources, waste of government money and driving insurance cost up.
Click to expand...
As wasteful as that is, the actual billing isn't too crazy high. However, if it's that slow and that's what came in, the alternative may be closing down the hospital.

Medicare and medicaid actually keeps a bunch of rural hospitals open.
 
Saint_Ward said:
Speaking of surprises..... I'm in the hospital surgical waiting room. (Wife surgery).

The only good thing is that the hospital charge will put us over our out-of-pocket max for in network, so I won't care too much about the other bills. Fully expect 2 surgeon bills, surgical assistant, anesthesiologist, etc...
Click to expand...
Oh, I was so young and dumb then...

It eventually worked out, but the billing took about 6 months to finally be approved and process, so I DID have to pay for everything else, and then later get reimbursed by the hospital.
 
Saint_Ward said:
Oh, I was so young and dumb then...

It eventually worked out, but the billing took about 6 months to finally be approved and process, so I DID have to pay for everything else, and then later get reimbursed by the hospital.
Click to expand...
Everything go ok with the surgery?
 
Dago said:
Everything go ok with the surgery?
Click to expand...
Yeah, it was a bit of a road to get there, but she's fully recovered. Seemed to have gained weight and is a bit distended. We've been working on her food allergies, but I think it was her 4 months of "christmas eating" that sort of did this (I can't say that to her anymore..lol, or I'll be dead).

But her back is all good. Hell of a surgery, minor complication. I told the story somewhere, maybe just to the mods/admins. If I ever get time, I'll look for the longer version. I'd say, 2-3 months to be mostly functional. 4-5 months was like nothing ever happened.
 
Saint_Ward said:
Yeah, it was a bit of a road to get there, but she's fully recovered. Seemed to have gained weight and is a bit distended. We've been working on her food allergies, but I think it was her 4 months of "christmas eating" that sort of did this (I can't say that to her anymore..lol, or I'll be dead).

But her back is all good. Hell of a surgery, minor complication. I told the story somewhere, maybe just to the mods/admins. If I ever get time, I'll look for the longer version. I'd say, 2-3 months to be mostly functional. 4-5 months was like nothing ever happened.
Click to expand...
as I have stated, I have already had 3 back surgeries and am waiting for a 4th. Problem is that the injury occurred nearly 5 years ago now so the odds of the nerve damage healing are getting pretty low
 
This isn't even about the current system vs single payer

If our government actually wanted to, they could make insurance work in the private sector but the medical industrial complex owns our politicians for the most part. If they are crooked enough to sell us out to the medical corporations, why would you think they would play nice and fair if insurance was run by the government?

The problem isn't the system....it's the people in charge. I'm not saying there aren't changes that need to be made. I am saying that the powers that be don't want to fix it
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Register

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Previous Next

Users who are viewing this thread

    Total: 4 (members: 0, guests: 4)

    Share this page

     

    Twitter

    Back
    Top Bottom